Fortune magazine on Tuesday named billionaire technology mogul Elon Musk the most powerful person in business in 2024.
Musk topped the media's list of the 100 most influential people in business, followed by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, and Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren.・Followed by Buffett and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
Rounding out the top 10 are Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and General Motors CEO Mary Barra. And a few more technology leaders.
“Ultimately, the people on the list of most influential people share an important characteristic: their words, actions, and wealth shape the thoughts and actions of those around them.” wrote Fortune magazine.
Musk, who is also the world's richest person, owns Tesla, SpaceX, and social platform X. It also owns several smaller technology companies, including artificial intelligence (AI) company xAI and neurotechnology company Neuralink.
The billionaire added billions more to his fortune in recent days as President-elect Donald Trump's victory sent Tesla shares soaring. The electric car maker's market capitalization exceeded $1 trillion last week and continued to rise on Monday.
Mr. Musk's vast wealth and extensive influence over Company X were key to President-elect Trump's rise in the final months of the campaign.
He donated $118 million to America PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC he founded earlier this year, and played a central role in the Trump campaign's turnout efforts in battleground states.
Musk also worked hard on Trump's campaign, attending several rallies with the Republican candidate and hosting a series of town halls in Pennsylvania in the final weeks of the election.
President Trump thanked the tech mogul in his victory speech last week after defeating Vice President Harris head-to-head in both the Electoral College and the popular vote.
“We have a new star,” the president-elect said. “A star is born, Elon!”
Musk is expected to play some role in the new administration, but it remains unclear what exactly that role will be. Trump has previously suggested that Musk could lead a committee focused on reducing government spending.
